Last year Baku took the surprising step of announcing the prosecutions of four soldiers for crimes against Armenians. But there is no word on what happened since – and no reciprocation from Armenia, either.
The International Court of Justice declined, however, to order more concrete measures related to Armenian prisoners and maps of land mines in Azerbaijan.
There was much to discuss just over a year after the end of the war, including ongoing border tensions, plans to reopen borders and transportation, and the fate of Armenian prisoners.
The announced deals could be significant, and come shortly after the two sides patched up a period of serious political tensions. But many details remain unclear.
Repeated attempts from Baku to force Yerevan to negotiate may be having the opposite effect, as the government is now vulnerable to being seen as easily bullied.
The government is again registering new political parties and saying it wants pluralism. But the parties who are cooperating are being mocked as “bus opposition.”
Officials in Karabakh are remaining tight-lipped about Iranian fuel imports, and say that Baku is using the issue as a pretext to drive out the region’s Armenian population.
A dispute over whether or not Azerbaijan had expanded its military presence on the border further has sharpened a longstanding dispute between the two sides.